Chad is an oil-rich African nation that has become a key regional ally of the West in the fight against jihadists.

Veteran President Idriss Deby died from battle wounds sustained in the fight against rebels in the country’s north, the army said Tuesday, only a day after he was declared the winner of an April 11 election.

Here are key facts about the country:

– Landlocked –

Stretching from the Sahara desert of the inhospitable mountainous north bordering Libya to the fertile lowlands in the south, landlocked Chad is three times bigger than California in the United States.

Home to around 15 million people and scores of ethnic groups, just over half its population are Muslim with 35 per cent Christian and the rest animist.

– Multiple frontlines –

Chad faces military challenges on all of its borders.

In the west, in the region of Lake Chad, the army has been fighting the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram — which is allied to the Islamic State — since 2015.

Former colonial power France keeps troops in Chad and heads a multinational force based in N’Djamena since 2014 to combat Islamists across the Sahel region.

Chad is also a member of five-country regional military force battling jihadists that also includes Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria.

Eastern Chad, on the border with Sudan, has seen conflicts between different ethnic groups.

Northern Chad is also unstable, little populated and difficult to control. Several Chadian rebel groups have set up their base in neighbouring southern Libya.

Fresh fighting erupted in the region after elections this month, drawing in Deby who died from injuries sustained fighting rebels.

The army said it had killed more than 300 rebels and captured 150 more in eight days of fighting this month.

– War history –

Chad has seen a succession of coups and rebellions since independence in 1960. It was wracked by civil war for three decades and has been invaded several time by Libya.

Idriss Deby Itno took power in December 1990 after ousting Hissene Habre, whom he had served as army chief.

Habre, dubbed “Africa’s Pinochet”, was sentenced by a special African court to life in jail in 2017 for crimes against humanity. More than 40,000 people are thought to have been murdered during his rule.

– Oil-rich and poor –

In 2003 Chad began to export oil to an Atlantic terminal through a pipeline built across neighbouring Cameroon.

It suffered badly from the plunge in the price of crude in 2014.

It is ranked as one of the poorest and most corrupt countries in the world, with nearly two fifths of the population living below the internationally recognised poverty line.

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Thursday disclosed that illicit drugs worth N75 billion have been seized in the last three months, while no fewer than 2,000 suspected drug traffickers have been arrested in various parts of the country within the period under review.

Brigadier-General Buba Marwa, the NDLEA Chairman, who made the disclosure when he paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, at Radio House in Abuja, the nation’s capital, also added that over 300 convictions have been secured.

Marwa lamented that drug abuse has assumed an alarming proportion in Nigeria, noting that there were about 15 million drug users between the age bracket of 15 and 64 – 25 per cent of whom were females.

He revealed that NDLEA operatives arrested two traffickers from the Niger Republic and Chad, who confessed to supplying illicit drugs to bandits.

The NDLEA Chief, however sought the collaboration of the information ministry and its agencies to launch a nationwide public sensitisation on drug demand reduction drive, through advocacy programmes in the media in order to curb drug abuse in the country.

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Timipre Sylva, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, who disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Newsnight in Abuja, the nation’s capital, which was aired on Monday and monitored by Mega Icon Magazine also submitted : “I have said it a few times that we have found oil in the northeast and we have started drilling activities in the Lake Chad Basin”.

“I don’t know how the discovery of oil in the area will impact all the issues there but on our side, we believe that in a very short time, we will start production”, Sylva continued.

He added that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world’s narrative, including the oil and gas industry, recalling that the recent meeting held by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in which Nigeria is a member was held virtually.

Justifying his claims, the Minister noted that such meetings were not envisaged before the COVID-19 era.

Reacting to the piracy, oil bunkering and illegal refining in the oil-producing region, Sylva said such activities had reduced when compared to what was obtained in the past.

“Pipeline vandalisation is less than it used to be. Before now, we had less than 50 per cent production, I can assure you that pipeline vandalisation is less than it used to be. If you compare what happens now with what obtains in the past, I think it is less now.

“There is still a lot of piracy I understand, but the law enforcement agencies are dealing with it. We are looking at other ways of dealing with it and believe that in a very short time, we will be able to get the full handle on it”.

Also speaking on the gas conversion, the Minister informed that the policy was necessitated by the Federal Government issuing an alternative to Nigeria following the deregulation of oil that will lead to the rise in oil prices.

The Minister, though, noted that gas is a cleaner and more efficient fuel, however, regretted previous administrations had not developed the nation’s gas, maintaining that Nigeria’s gas penetration is the lowest in Africa.

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Since April 2019, people have fled relentless attacks by armed groups in the Sokoto, Zamfara and Katsina states of Nigeria. Most found refuge in Niger’s Maradi region

Fearing and fleeing the same insecurity in the border areas, an additional 19,000 Niger nationals have become displaced inside their own country.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is concerned about deteriorating security inside Nigeria and the risk of armed incursions spilling over into Niger.

The latest influx of refugees, mainly desperate women and children, follows attacks in Nigeria’s Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara states during the month of April. Several villages in several Local Government Areas were attacked by gunmen. The deadliest attack claimed 47 lives in Kankara, Danmusa and Dusi-ma Local Government Areas in Katsina State and prompted airstrikes by the Nigerian Armed Forces.

Those fleeing speak of extreme violence unleashed against civilians, murders, kidnappings for ransom and pillaging and looting of villages.

Refugees from Nigeria are being allowed to seek protection in Niger despite border closures due to COVID-19. New arrivals are in urgent need of water, food and access to health services, as well as shelter and clothing. Many were barely able to carry anything in the rush to save lives.

Many have also been caught up in the clashes reported being blamed on farmers and herders of different ethnic groups as well as vigilantism. Some 95 per cent of the refugees have come from Nigeria’s Sokoto state, rest from Kano, Zamfara and Katsina states.

We are working closely with authorities in Niger to relocate at least 7,000 refugees to safety, in villages 20 kilometres away from the border, where water, food, shelter, access to health and other essential assistance can be provided. This will also enable to ease the pressure on host communities in border areas, where basic infrastructure and services are lacking.

UNHCR has been present at the onset, and the emergency response focused on protection and life-saving activities, including registration, protection and border monitoring, education, health, shelter as well as water and sanitation.

UNHCR needs to continue biometric registration of refugees to better assess their needs and lead the humanitarian response. Discussions are also ongoing with the authorities to recognize on a prima facie basis the refugees fleeing Nigeria and arriving in the region.

The violence is not directly linked to armed groups operating in the Lake Chad and in the Sahel. It, however, adds Maradi to other areas in Niger struggling with insecurity including in Diffa, Tillaberi and Tahoua, further straining humanitarian actors’ financial resources and their capacity to respond.

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The fighters then abducted Ms. Musa from her home, blindfolded her and dragged her deep into the nearby Sambisa forest, where she remained until she was rescued by Nigerian troops earlier this year.

“I was forcibly married to three terrorists at separate times that resulted in three children,” Ms. Musa told Africa Renewal during an interview at the Durumi camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja. With her lastborn child strapped on her back, she explained that her two older children had died of starvation in the bush.

Ms. Musa’s predicament represents the face of the worsening humanitarian situation in the Lake Chad Basin. About 10 million people living there are in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The UN agency says that thousands of IDPs being sheltered in various camps in the region lack adequate accommodation, food, water and sanitation.

That Lake Chad, once one of Africa’s largest freshwater bodies and a source of livelihood for about 30 million, is vanishing fast is no longer breaking news. What is new is the unique and complex humanitarian crisis around the basin, which is among the most severe in the world.

“The widespread violence has left 10.7 million people across the Lake Chad region in need of emergency assistance. Most of these people were already contending with high poverty rates, poor provision of basic services like education and healthcare, and the devastating impact of climate change.

Now 2.3 million people across the region are displaced; over 5 million are struggling to access enough food to survive; and half a million children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition,” said UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed during a high-level event on the humanitarian situation in the region.

Located in Northern Central Africa, Lake Chad borders four countries — Chad, Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon. But the Lake Chad “Basin” that covers almost 8% of the continent, spreads over seven countries: Algeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Libya, Niger and Nigeria.

The water body has diminished by 90% since the 1960s due to overuse and climate change effects. Conflict between herders and farmers became common as livelihoods were lost. Families who relied on the lake started migrating to other areas in search of water.

Tackling the challenges

Governments of the affected countries are now battling on several fronts around Lake Chad. First, they are conducting a military offensive against the terrorists. A joint multinational task force made up of troops from Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Chad, and Benin continues to launch military strikes against the terrorists.

Second, the governments want to end the violent conflict between herders and farmers over water and pasture.

Third, they are trying to find a lasting solution to the drying of the lake, which is exacerbating poverty in the region. An ambitious plan to restore the lake to its former glory involves a multibillion-dollar project that will channel water from the Ubangi River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is 2,400 km from the lake. A feasibility was already underway in 2018.

The lake’s replenishment effort is being led by Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, and supported by the eight countries that are members of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, the regional regulatory body of the basin’s water (Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Algeria, the Central African Republic, Libya, and Sudan).

President Buhari raised an alarm over the disappearing lake at an event in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly in September 2019.

“Lake Chad is shrinking while the population is exploding. It’s a challenging situation. With less land, less rainfall, these are very unique problems for the country,” said President Buhari.

The United Nations’ engagement in the Lake Chad Basin has taken the form of humanitarian assistance, development aid, human rights, justice and law enforcement, as well as preventing and countering terrorism, according to Deputy Secretary-General Mohammed.

In the last two years, the UN has co-hosted two back-to-back international donor conferences, the first in Oslo where donors pledged $672 million in emergency assistance, and the second in Berlin, where donors announced $2.17 billion, including $467 million in concessional loans, to support activities in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria.

Nigeria’s National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, the lead agency charged with the welfare of IDPs, maintains that IDPs’ durable options are to return home or be settled in host communities.

Governments need to integrate the IDPs and refugees into mainstream society by “empowering them to start some business or farming so that they can take care of their families,” Daniel Soetan, national coordinator of Goodwill Ambassadors of Nigeria, an NGO involved in distributing relief materials to IDPs, told Africa Renewal.

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Fleeing a trail of devastation in her home in Michika, she arrived in a host community in Yola, the capital of Adamawa State, in search of safety and a new home for herself and her family.

In Yola, Faraa met one of the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) workers in October 2015. Following her experiences during conflict in the years prior, she showed signs of distress and indicators of depression.

The IOM team provided psychosocial support and referred her to a mental health facility in Yola where she was treated for severe depression. Since then, Faraa has been receiving medication as well as psychoeducation, which ensures that she and her family are aware of the conditions and symptoms of the disorder and acknowledge the importance of taking her medication.

In 2017, as her condition began to improve, she was selected by IOM to receive integrated small-scale livelihood support including a machine to make pasta and raw materials to complement her recovery process.

Now in its tenth year, the ongoing conflict between non-state armed groups and Nigerian armed forces continues to uproot the lives of tens of thousands of civilians. Since 2019, a spike in violence and military counter-operations have displaced some 136,000 people in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States. In Adamawa alone, over 190,534 individuals like Faraa are currently displaced from their homes.

“The crisis in the Lake Chad Region is far from over,” said Vincent Houver, IOM Deputy Director for Operations and Emergencies during a visit to Nigeria in July 2019. “The humanitarian community cannot spare any effort at this time.”

An Eye for Business

With the proceeds from her business, Faraa can provide for her four children, three of whom are enrolled in a nearby private nursery and primary school.

“I did not know how to make pasta before, but I learned in one day,” she said to IOM staff on a recent home visit to assess her progress.

Standing in front of a brick structure, she explains that she has saved enough money to buy a piece of land where she is now building a house for her family.

Faraa is now venturing into other business opportunities. Just recently, she started selling pasta and chin-chin, a fried snack popular in West Africa, at a private primary school within the community.

IOM’s MHPSS activities in Nigeria were prompted by the aftermath of the Chibok girls’ abduction in 2014. Today, mobile teams operate safe spaces in 12 locations in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States. Eighteen teams composed of 114 members comprise educators, health care workers, counselors, social workers, community resource persons and animators. They offer artistic workshops and other recreational activities for children and youth, informal education for adults, counseling, support groups and small-scale conflict resolution. By integrating psychosocial support into livelihood activities, IOM promotes positive coping mechanisms and resilience among the displaced population.

Today, Faraa feels safe and welcome in the town she escaped to six years ago. Much of her past is a blur, but as she ponders on her future, she seems calm and optimistic.

“I never thought I would be as happy as I am now,” she says, as she hands out samples of fresh chin-chin. Her customers grab a piece and quickly ask for another. Faraa chuckles, her eyes beaming with pride.

Name has been changed to protect the identity of the beneficiary.

IOM’s MHPSS activities in northeast Nigeria are funded by SIDA, USAID, the Government of Italy and the Federal Republic of Germany.

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Here is his story.

“My name is Kedra Abakar. I am 25 years old and live on Ngomiron Doumou island. I was 21 when Boko Haram invaded my island; they created confusion and fear. Many neighbours fled, but those who were unable to do so, maybe 2-300 people, were rounded up. I was one of those people. We were kept under a tree and they slaughtered three of my friends in front of us. It was terrible. We were told that if we didn’t go with Boko Haram, the same would happen to us. We were very fearful.

We were taken to Nigeria by Boko Haram. We had three duties; farming, fishing and fighting for Boko Haram. I had to fight when it was my turn. I was given a gun and told to attack a village – I was forced to do this – If I refused, they would have killed me. I did shoot my gun, but I do not know if I killed anyone.

I spent two painful years with Boko Haram and I was not happy. I looked for an opportunity to escape but knew if I was caught, I knew I would be killed, so I was very scared. In the end, I was able to flee. I took a canoe at night time on the shore of Lake Chad. I was not able to come directly to Chad but had to travel through Cameroon.

When I think of the time with Boko Haram, I am very unhappy. Only 100 of the 300 people who were taken, have returned to the island. Many died in the fighting and some are still there; those who believe Boko Haram is a good thing.

My advice to other young people is to understand that Boko Haram is very bad. I tell them that they must remain in the village if they can. We were cheated by Boko Haram as we did not know any better.

My community has welcomed me back. Whatever I needed they gave me. I hope that in the future there will be a school on the island, so people can be educated and not fall under the spell of Boko Haram.

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Wuro Dadi lies on the outskirts of Yola, the capital city of Adamawa state, firmly within the region that has been grappling with the decade-long Lake Chad conflict. In recent times, the village has been adversely affected by communal violence. When it was attacked in 2018, the violence left 5 people dead and most of its homes and farm produce destroyed.

Safiratu, a mother of three, recalls the morning she fled into the vast farmlands surrounding her village.

“We escaped with nothing but the children we have.” She said.

Her husband was killed that day, her home set ablaze and all their farm produce destroyed. In all, over 75 homes in Wuro Dadi were destroyed. Since then, the village has struggled to recover and Safiratu lived in the open with her children for seven months under a lean-to which also served as an outdoor sitting area, in front of her destroyed home.

The residents of the village are predominantly farmers and fishermen. They grow grains and vegetables and fish from a nearby fresh water pond which is fed by the annual flood waters of the Benue river. Since the attack, no one has been able to return to their farms.

“Without our seeds, there is nothing to plant” said Dishong, a 60-year old resident of the village. “We survive by fishing the pond and whatever odd jobs we can find but it is not enough. Since we cannot farm, feeding our families has become very difficult.”

For Boyomoso Eli, a father of two, fishing has become the mainstay.

“This is how we survive. Whatever we catch per day we have to sell so that we can earn some money to buy food for that day.”

Despite the intense pressure to overfish the pond, the people of Wuro Dadi practice a simple form of sustainable fishing. The pond is only fished for a few months after the rains and then it is left to fallow for the rest of the year so that it can be replenished by the Benue river. During the fallow period, those who can afford the tools needed, proceed to fish in the river. Those who cannot, have to rely on their farm produce alone.

“We were very self-sufficient here but the fighting changed it all,” said Bitrus Alvadi, a shop owner and the secretary of the village co-operative society. Bitrus’ shop was burned and looted. He was able to repair and re-stock it with support from the village co-operative society.

“Although the co-operative is of great help to us, it has also been affected by this crisis. Loans have not been repaid due to the losses suffered and so there is not enough money for loans this year.”

In April, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) helped to rebuild Safiratu’s home. The first of 77 destroyed shelters scheduled for construction. Local workers and material from the village were used for the project. Safiratu was also involved, she helped the construction team draw water for the project from the village stream.

In addition, over 200 families received maize and rice seeds for planting. Along with cash for the purchase of fertilizer and farming or fishing tools.

The seeds and cash that were distributed to the families in Wuro Dadi is part of the ICRC’s wider agricultural assistance to victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence in Nigeria.

The distribution targeted over 80,000 families in nine states: Borno, Adamawa and Yobe all in the North-East, Plateau, Bauchi, Benue, Nassarawa, Kaduna in the north-central region and Cross River located in the south.

Now that the planting season is well underway in Nigeria, the people of Wuro Dadi can return to farming their lands as they work towards being self-sufficient again.

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“Since November we’ve seen 59,200 [displaced],” IOM Nigeria’s Chief of Mission, Frantz Celestin, said in Geneva, noting that in the last two years, “we have not seen that many people on the move”.

The last two months of 2018 were also marked by “an increased sophistication” of non-State armed groups, accompanied by “an increased number of attacks and success in taking towns”, Mr. Celestin explained.

Decade-long crisis of displacement, abduction and killings

Civilians continue to bear the brunt of conflict that has led to widespread forced displacement and violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.

Since the start of the crisis, more than 27,000 people have been killed in the three north-eastern BAY states, according to UN humanitarian coordinating office, OCHA, and thousands of women and girls have been abducted.

Government efforts to drive back the non-State armed groups that operate in the north-east of the vast country have been hindered by the Harmattan dust cloud – an annual phenomenon that sweeps across west Africa from approximately November to March.

Humanitarian hubs destroyed

In the town of Rann, which was attacked twice last month, “nobody was spared” in one assault, Mr. Celestin said.

“The MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières) clinic was burned down, (the) IOM hub was attacked, the UNICEF clinic was attacked, the WHO/ICRC’s compounds were attacked,” he added.

Amid ongoing insecurity, humanitarian access is limited, hampering the ability of aid agencies to assess needs comprehensively.

Tens of thousands of civilians have fled into already overcrowded camps, mainly in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.

Overcrowding in protection camps ‘one of our biggest problems’

“One of our biggest issues in north-east Nigeria in addition to the security issues is the land, access to land,” Mr. Celestin said. “We have a number of camps that are overcrowded, in fact, if we were to take all of the camps together, we would have more than 249,000 people in camps that are completely congested, with Monguno (Borno) being the largest one of them.”

Rumours of imminent attack are enough to convince communities to flee, the IOM official explained, noting that people had sought refuge in neighbouring countries of the Lake Chad region.

“There were a number of people who moved across a number of villages in Cameroon,” Mr. Celestin said. “Some of them were returned…they crossed the border and they were turned back. And for the recent (displacement) one, I don’t have the specific numbers; I’ve heard 30,000, but I have not been able to prove it.”

In 2018, according to the UN humanitarian wing, OCHA, 7.7 million people in Nigeria were in need of humanitarian assistance, and 1.7 million people were classified as “food insecure” between October and December.

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